Vestcor Inc Reduces Stake in World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc has reduced its stake in World Kinect Corporation by 69.5%, selling 16,794 shares and now holding 7,354 shares worth $209,000.
• World Kinect has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20, raising its annualized yield to 3.2% from a previous $0.17 per share.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on World Kinect, with Raymond James maintaining an "outperform" rating and a target price of $33.00, while Bank of America set a lower target of $26.00 with an "underperform" rating.

Vestcor Inc cut its holdings in shares of World Kinect Corporation (NYSE:WKC - Free Report) by 69.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,354 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,794 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in World Kinect were worth $209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WKC. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in World Kinect by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,067,946 shares of the company's stock worth $84,399,000 after acquiring an additional 719,631 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in World Kinect by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,119,750 shares of the company's stock worth $30,804,000 after purchasing an additional 216,903 shares in the last quarter. EVR Research LP raised its holdings in shares of World Kinect by 163.0% during the 4th quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 710,000 shares of the company's stock worth $19,532,000 after acquiring an additional 440,000 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of World Kinect by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 702,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,333,000 after purchasing an additional 41,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of World Kinect by 118.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 631,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,378,000 after purchasing an additional 342,823 shares during the last quarter. 97.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

World Kinect Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:WKC traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $25.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 194,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,490. World Kinect Corporation has a 12-month low of $22.70 and a 12-month high of $31.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.47. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.39.

World Kinect (NYSE:WKC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.11. World Kinect had a positive return on equity of 7.07% and a negative net margin of 1.11%. The firm had revenue of $9.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.32 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that World Kinect Corporation will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

World Kinect Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 17th. This is an increase from World Kinect's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. World Kinect's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -10.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on World Kinect from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on World Kinect from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $35.00) on shares of World Kinect in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.40.

About World Kinect

World Kinect Corporation operates as an energy management company in the United States, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. This segment also offers fuel management, price risk management, ground handling, dispatch services, and trip planning services, such as flight planning and scheduling, weather reports and overflight permits; payment and processing services; and operates a web-based marketplace platform.